PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Notre Dame baseball team had their nine-game winning streak snapped as the Irish fell in a 6-3 final at Pittsburgh in the series opener on Friday night.
Mark Quatrani got the Irish on the scoreboard first with a two-out solo home run in the top of the first inning. Jack Radel, meanwhile, forced the Panthers into stranding a pair of runners on base in the bottom half of the first.
Mason Barth and Shane Miranda hit back-to-back doubles to left field to double the Notre Dame lead at 2-0 in the second inning. Jack Radel then used three consecutive strikeouts in the bottom half of the inning to again force Pitt into leaving a runner on base in the second.
After a leadoff double by the Panthers in the bottom of the third, Radel induced a groundout before using a strikeout and a routine flyout to shut the door on the scoring chance for Pitt. The junior righty continued to have an answer early to the Panthers’ threats as he induced a groundout to force Pitt into stranding the bases loaded in the fourth.
Pittsburgh plated three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.
Noah Rooney put back-to-back shutout innings on the scoreboard in the sixth and the seventh to keep the Irish within striking distance.
Pittsburgh used a three-run spot in the bottom of the eighth to push their lead to 6-2. Brandon Logan and Mark Quatrani both drew walks in the ninth, and Logan was running from the start on what turned into a dropped pop up as the freshman raced around from second to score. The rally, however, was halted there as the Irish fell by the 6-3 final score.
Mark Quatrani was 1-for-3 with a home run and two walks. Mason Barth had a double and scored a run, and Shane Miranda had a double and an RBI. Drew Berkland and Dylan Passo each added a hit, and Brandon Logan scored a run.
Jack Radel struck out seven and moved into sixth place all-time in single-season strikeouts in program history but shouldered the loss on the hill. Noah Rooney had two shutout innings on the mound with three strikeouts. Oisin Lee went two-thirds of an inning, and Will Jaisle added a third of an inning with a strikeout.
The Irish (28-21, 11-17 ACC) look to even the series against the Panthers on Friday. Game two of the three-game series is set to start at 3 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh.